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Genesis 1

The Creation

1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness covered the surface of the watery depths, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. 3 Then God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and God separated the light from the darkness.

5 God called the light "day," and He called the darkness "night." Evening came and then morning: the first day.
6 Then God said, "Let there be an expanse between the waters, separating water from water." 7 So God made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above the expanse. And it was so.

8 God called the expanse "sky." Evening came and then morning: the second day.
9 Then God said, "Let the water under the sky be gathered into one place, and let the dry land appear." And it was so. 10 God called the dry land "earth," and He called the gathering of the water "seas." And God saw that it was good. 11 Then God said, "Let the earth produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and fruit trees on the earth bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds." And it was so. 12 The earth produced vegetation: seed-bearing plants according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.

13 Evening came and then morning: the third day.
14 Then God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night. They will serve as signs for festivals and for days and years. 15 They will be lights in the expanse of the sky to provide light on the earth." And it was so. 16 God made the two great lights-the greater light to have dominion over the day and the lesser light to have dominion over the night-as well as the stars. 17 God placed them in the expanse of the sky to provide light on the earth, 18 to dominate the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good.

19 Evening came and then morning: the fourth day.
20 Then God said, "Let the water swarm with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky." 21 So God created the large sea-creatures and every living creature that moves and swarms in the water, according to their kinds. [He also created] every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 So God blessed them, "Be fruitful, multiply, and fill the waters of the seas, and let the birds multiply on the earth."

23 Evening came and then morning: the fifth day.
24 Then God said, "Let the earth produce living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that crawl, and the wildlife of the earth according to their kinds." And it was so.

25 So God made the wildlife of the earth according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and creatures that crawl on the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.

26 Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness. They will rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the livestock, all the earth, and the creatures that crawl on the earth."

27 So God created man in His own image;
He created him in the image of God;
He created them male and female.
28 God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. Rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, and every creature that crawls on the earth." 29 God also said, "Look, I have given you every seed-bearing plant on the surface of the entire earth and every tree whose fruit contains seed. This food will be for you, 30 for all the wildlife of the earth, for every bird of the sky, and for every creature that crawls on the earth-everything having the breath of life in it. [I have given] every green plant for food." And it was so.

31 God saw all that He had made, and it was very good. Evening came and then morning: the sixth day.

Genesis 1

The story of creation

1 In the beginning God
created the heavens
and the earth.t

2 The earth was barren,
with no form of life;t
it was under a roaring ocean
covered with darkness.
But the Spirit of Godt
was moving over the water.

The first day


3 God said, “I command light to shine!” And light started shining.t 4 God looked at the light and saw that it was good. He separated light from darkness

5 and named the light “Day” and the darkness “Night”. Evening came and then morning—that was the first day.t

The second day


6 God said, “I command a dome to separate the water above it from the water below it.”t 7 And that's what happened. God made the dome

8 and named it “Sky”. Evening came and then morning—that was the second day.

The third day


9 God said, “I command the water under the sky to come together in one place, so there will be dry ground.” And that's what happened.

10 God named the dry ground “Land”, and he named the water “Sea”. God looked at what he had done and saw that it was good.
11 God said, “I command the earth to produce all kinds of plants, including fruit trees and grain.” And that's what happened. 12 The earth produced all kinds of vegetation. God looked at what he had done, and it was good.

13 Evening came and then morning—that was the third day.

The fourth day


14 God said, “I command lights to appear in the sky and to separate day from night and to show the time for seasons, special days, and years. 15 I command them to shine on the earth.” And that's what happened. 16 God made two powerful lights, the brighter one to rule the day and the othert to rule the night. He also made the stars. 17 Then God put these lights in the sky to shine on the earth, 18 to rule day and night, and to separate light from darkness. God looked at what he had done, and it was good.

19 Evening came and then morning—that was the fourth day.

The fifth day


20 God said, “I command the sea to be full of living creatures, and I command birds to fly above the earth.” 21 So God made the giant sea monsters and all the living creatures that swim in the sea. He also made every kind of bird. God looked at what he had done, and it was good. 22 Then he gave the living creatures his blessing—he told the sea creatures to live everywhere in the sea and the birds to live everywhere on earth.

23 Evening came and then morning—that was the fifth day.

The sixth day


24 God said, “I command the earth to give life to all kinds of tame animals, wild animals, and reptiles.” And that's what happened.

25 God made every one of them. Then he looked at what he had done, and it was good.

26 God said, “Now we will make humans, and they will be like us. We will let them rule the fish, the birds, and all other living creatures.”t
27 So God created humans to be like himself; he made men and women.tt

28 God gave them his blessing and said:
Have a lot of children! Fill the earth with people and bring it under your control. Rule over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and every animal on the earth.
29 I have provided all kinds of fruit and grain for you to eat.

30 And I have given the green plants as food for everything else that breathes. These will be food for animals, both wild and tame, and for birds.
31 God looked at what he had done. All of it was very good! Evening came and then morning—that was the sixth day.